A new astrological year begins at the March equinox. This reflects your surroundings if you are based in the Northern Hemisphere amid the earliest days of spring, but the end of one season is still the beginning of another for those in more southerly latitudes. Plus you are at the centre of events: with half the known solar system in your constellation at one point or another during this month. Mercury and Venus arrive within hours of each another, so the themes surrounding relationships are familiar. Maybe it is hard to admit you don’t have all the answers, but Mercury’s upcoming retrograde is a chance to revisit your plans.

taurus

april 20 - may 20

During March, the planets draw you to consider a number of issues the consequences of which, won’t be immediately obvious. Yet you aren’t on your own with all this, since others could provide more assistance than perhaps you are comfortable allowing them to offer. You’re an emotional person and your feelings are strong, so maybe you don’t want to risk getting hurt? You’ll miss out on a few highs you are wholly aware, but avoid the corresponding lows that a steadier equilibrium doesn’t feature. You are happiest presently in a loose association that permits some freedom, even if this means holding your natural impulses in check.

gemini

may 21 - june 20

At least initially, planetary trends don’t sit comfortably. On one hand, you are not confident of your own direction, so while you endeavour to keep the faith, at times your situation seems baffling and bewildering. You’re also aware that your choices may not suit everyone, so while you’d love to oblige there are some compromises you feel personally unable to countenance. Difficulties arise when others hold the purse strings and where fundamentally they can wield, more clout than you. Pressure is either financial or comes from sheer weight of numbers. You must be ready to establish a middle ground and see both sides of it all.

cancer

june 21 - july 22

One strange thing about the uppermost sector of your horoscope is while it emphasises your standing in the community, it also has plenty to do with the respect in which your contemporaries hold you, along with how others perceive your input and contribution. It can be tricky to strike a balance between what is best for you, versus how you imagine the collective rates your offering. In the shorter term: a spacious home, expensive car and veneer of respectability might cut the mustard. But in terms of your legacy and how you’ll be remembered, a focus on wealth is more likely to go against you, than to promote fond memories.

leo

july 23 - august 22

You’ll want to stay close to home during March. Should the opposite apply; consider why are you so eager to escape its confines? If you’d prefer a change of scenery, treading a satisfactory path between these two extremes proves complicated. A lot depends on the personal insight you can muster: since on some level you’ll appreciate, the approval of a volatile and fickle audience is not the only yardstick by which to judge your impact. Fundamentally, try to assess your situation from an outside point of view, never the easiest angle to take. Remember, there are folks who feel less emotionally driven and often see things differently.

virgo

august 23 - september 22

A subtle shift of emphasis brings your critical faculties to the forefront. You have tended to place the needs of others in pole position and see those you care about through rose-coloured spectacles. On occasions, you have castigated yourself when you’ve spotted a less than charitable perspective on these dynamics or felt resentful because your own needs come second, despite your role in this outcome. You then give out mixed messages that impede the idea of harmonious relating still further. Nobody is saying everyone must perceive the world identically, but it is easier building on common ground, rather than what separates you.

libra

september 23 - october 22

Yours is the seventh sign, hence the natural ruler of astrology’s partnership sector. Thus, you ought to be delighted as the focus shifts from routine matters through to relationship concerns, or even affairs of the heart. Outstanding health worries become less immediate, although it is still important to have a care for your physical and emotional well-being, ensuring you get sufficient rest and relaxation for example, eat properly and show caution around any medication or recreational overindulgence. Although this upcoming theme is largely an auspicious one, problems can still arise closer to home if you feel limited and confined.

scorpio

october 23 - november 21

Jupiter continues through your sign, so the same fortunate and constructive trends you were under since October, still prevail. However, March sees Jupiter commence its annual retrograde cycle, as the Earth prepares to pass this planet in its orbit around the Sun. It’s a cycle lasting until the second week of July, allowing you to gain a new perspective on the past four months. Learning generally, successful litigation, travel, new horizons and those from different backgrounds or age groups can all play a major part. But in the way of the luckiest planet, it is better to make your own good fortune and build on these opportunities.

sagittarius

november 22 - december 21

Three distinct regions of your horoscope are highlighted during March. These emphasise your financial affairs and earned income; your domestic situation and family life; children generally, pets, creativity and enjoying yourself. Parents in particular won’t need any prompting about how these factors usually interact: after all, money isn’t everything, but it sure keeps the kids in touch. Or maybe, you are planning your dream holiday: with your strategy threatened by the prospects of funding such a jaunt? Perhaps you are contemplating your work-life balance and how these antagonistic concepts, can be aligned more fruitfully?

capricorn

december 22 - january 19

Mars arrives in your sign, to join long-term occupants Saturn and Pluto. Individually, these planets are a potent force, while together they could mean the chance of a lifetime, yet one that requires vigilance and circumspection. Mars departs your vicinity in the middle of May, but turns retrograde late in June, coming back on August 13 for a second stay of almost another month. In total, Mars spends nearly one quarter of 2018 in your region of the firmament, two weeks of which form part of its biennial retrograde. You had better cultivate patience and stamina, as you ensure a clear set of objectives to pursue during this period.

aquarius

january 20 - february 18

Much of 2018 is characterised by Mars in your sign. Over two-thirds of the coming year sees the red planet either in your constellation or the one preceding it, with yours comprising the majority, at over five months in total with almost seven weeks retrograde. You and Mars aren’t perfectly matched, since while you admire the confidence and independence of this planet, you don’t enjoy the irritability and aggression it sometimes signifies. The last time you saw a stay so lengthy was in 1971, assuming you are in your late forties or beyond. But its visit is great for ambitious achievement, so do your homework in the meantime…

pisces

february 19 - march 19

You are in the spotlight during the first half of March. But this scenario differs from the focussed glare that befits some others: since you are better suited to a more diffuse and subtle approach. Still, as part of an ongoing process you will be covering another step or two, on the metaphorical climb up your own symbolic mountain. Your ultimate destination still lies far ahead, while for now its true nature is obscured by clouds. So just as when toiling up a steep incline, try mainly looking just a short distance in front of you. While the summit of your endeavours remains remote, you will only become discouraged by such misty ambiguities.